Debbie Roppolo

Click here to reply to @Pecansprings "Abandoned half eaten snacks played peekaboo behind dust bunnies on the top shelf. Jars of pickles, victims of last year's canning efforts, now science experiments huddled together in dark corners. It was enough to make any self respecting field mouse pack up its thin things and leave. Well, unless I smashed a couple of stale Hostess cupcakes flat and tried to pass them off as gourmet pancakes at Christmas, I'd have to go to the store. Some people enjoy trips to the supermarket."

Click here to reply to @Pecansprings "Also helped to build a better sense of camaraderie with the other Special Olympic athletes. And it also built his self esteem because through practice and yeah, sometimes there were tears, sometimes he didn't want to do it, but through practice he would go and compete and he did quite well. And oftentimes he would win a medal. So it really, it really helped. It seemed to help him feel more empowered. So I would really encourage you to look at putting your child in Special Olympics."

Click here to reply to @Pecansprings "But the most precious gift happened this year. Whenever I was making cookies for my youngest or younger sons teachers, my older son took a picture of those cookies by the tree and he posted it on Facebook. He said, this is my mom's Christmas tradition that he learned. That she learned. Excuse me, it's getting late. That she learned from her mother, and it's one I intend on continuing."

Click here to reply to @Pecansprings "Welcome to behind the Book Covers, where we dive deep into the world of books and the brilliant minds behind them. Each episode will explore the stories that touch our lives, the authors that craft them, and the journeys they take us on. So grab a cup of coffee, get comfortable, and let's embark on this literary and journey . You're listening to Pictures of the City Night."

Click here to reply to @Pecansprings "And she just had this most horrific look on her face. She walked into the walk in closet, and I stood there and I started crying. I'm 15 years old going on 16, and I'm bawling like a baby because I just had a feeling something was horribly wrong. And I told my mom, I said, mama, what happened? She said, well, daddy has had an accident, and I'm going to go meet your daddy's boss to see what happened?"

Click here to reply to @Pecansprings "You're gonna miss me when I'm gone You're gonna miss me by my hair You're gonna miss me everywhere Oh, you're sure gonna miss me when I'm gone When I'm gone When I'm gone You're gonna miss me when I'm gone You're gonna miss me by my walk You're gonna miss me by my taco You're sure gonna miss me when I'm gone"

Click here to reply to @Pecansprings "So if I had to be a character in either a book or a movie. Hmm. Well, I've got to say I'm split. First of all, I think I would be like Junie B. Jones, the Barbara Parks character in her books, because Junie B. Jones was always full of mischief, always full of fun, and always willing to go on an adventure."

Click here to reply to @Pecansprings "And it was words no parent wants to hear. The specialist told us that my heart, my son had autism. I know it sounds cliche, but there is no other words to describe it but say, I felt like the rug had been pulled out from underneath me, and I honestly felt like I had been punched in the gut for days, weeks, months afterwards. I really doubted myself as a parent."

Click here to reply to @Pecansprings "I've been turned down a lot with writing children's books. But anyway, I went ahead and opened it because in the back of my mind I thought, hey, Deb, you're glutton for punishment. Anyway, and the email said that they really did like my story and they wanted to publish it as a standalone book. Wow. So at 230 in the morning, I live out in the country, by the way. I ran outside and I laughed and I cried."

Click here to reply to @Pecansprings "But just thinking about that as an adult, that's really hard on kids. I mean, death and funerals are not something that we really want to talk about to our children. But it's necessary. Because whenever we are grieving the loss of a loved one or a family member, we are so wrapped up in our own grief, sometimes it's hard to remember that the little kids, five years old, younger, maybe a little bit older, they have no idea what's going on."